This application claims the priority of German Patent Application Ser. No. 101 20 935.5, filed Apr. 27, 2001, pursuant to 35 U.S.C. 119(a)-(d), the subject matter of which is incorporated herein by reference.
The present invention relates, in general, to a side impact structure as reinforcement for a vehicle door of a motor vehicle. The present invention further relates to a vehicle door having integrated therein a side impact structure.
Side impact structures are provided for protecting vehicle occupants from injury in the event of a collision from the side and are typically used as door reinforcement. Depending on the stability of the basic configuration of the door, the side impact structure should have high rigidity in a direction transversely to the traveling direction.
There are many designs known in the art to implement side impact protective devices. For example, European Pat. No. EP 0 728 602 A2 describes a side impact structure in the form of a tube construction as well as in the form of a folded construction with trapezoidal end portions which are flat and widened. European Pat. No. EP 0 662 053 describes a side impact structure which is provided with a cap-shaped cross section over a major part of its length and has end portions which flatten toward the end faces and increase in width.
German Pat. No. DE 296 22 985 U1 describes a side impact structure which has one flat end with a tab being bent upwards therefrom. The tab forms a hook and projects into one of the door columns of the vehicle chassis, when the door is closed. The hook is intended to provide a second form-fitting connection, in addition to the door lock, and to provide an additional protection in the event of a collision from the side.
The installation of side impact structures into the vehicle door is typically realized by using weld-on sheet metal brackets or screw fasteners as desired breaking points so as to shear off in the event of a head-on collision. In this way, wedging of the side impact structure in the vehicle door should be avoided after a head-on crash.
Motor vehicles are oftentimes the object of break-in or theft. Known devices for unauthorized opening of a vehicle door include tampering tools which are inserted through existing gaps in the outer shell of the door, e.g., the clip holes for attachment of a decorative strip, in order to reach the actuating mechanism for the door lock and to ultimately open the door. As a result of such acts, the owner of the vehicle oftentimes has to cope with financial losses and to spend a great time to deal with authorities and insurances.
It would therefore be desirable and advantageous to provide an improved side impact structure to obviate prior art shortcomings and to at least significantly inhibit an unauthorized tampering with the door lock via gaps in the outer shell of the vehicle door.
According to one aspect of the present invention, a side impact structure for incorporation between an outer shell and an inner door panel of a door of a motor vehicle, includes an elongate section member having an attachment element, and a blocking element secured to the attachment element and at least partially bridging a spacing between the outer shell and the inner door panel.
The present invention resolves prior art problems by placing the attachment element suitably in the area of the B column, i.e. in the area adjacent the door lock, and by providing a blocking element which projects out transversely from the attachment element to at least partially bridge the distance between the outer shell of the door and the inner door panel. The blocking element can be integrated in single-piece configuration with the side impact structure and prevents access to the actuating mechanism of the door lock. In this way, an unauthorized and unlawful opening of the vehicle door from outside through a gap in the outer shell is prevented or at least so delayed as to thwart the unlawful act because speed is of the essence in these situations. Persons with intentions to engage in such unlawful acts will be deterred in the future to tamper with vehicles of this type equipped with a side impact structure according to the present invention. Thus, the present invention provides a further contribution to the safety aspect of a motor vehicle against break-in and/or theft.
According to another feature of the present invention, the spacing between the outer shell and the inner door panel is bridged by the blocking element by more than half of its extension. In this way, access by a tampering tool inserted through a gap in the outer shell of the door to reach the actuating mechanism of the door lock becomes almost impossible. Optionally, the end of the projecting blocking element may be provided with supplementing measures, such as edges or folds to further complicate the tampering act.
According to another feature of the present invention, the blocking element is configured in the form of a hook-shaped shield. This configuration is effective to defend against unlawful manipulations and, moreover, is easy to manufacture. Also the installation of the side impact structure in the vehicle door does not require any modification to conventional manufacturing techniques. Suitably, the shield is connected to an upper free end of the attachment element.
According to another aspect of the present invention, a vehicle door for a motor vehicle, includes an outer shell, an inner door panel, an actuating mechanism for operating a door lock, and a side impact structure disposed between the outer shell and the inner door panel, with the side impact structure having an attachment element for securement to a B column of the motor vehicle, and a blocking element connected to the attachment element for inhibiting access to the actuating mechanism.